Winter's Chill
by IronRaven
Summary: Kagome is sent home sick, and it's cold night. When thier enemy is the winter, will the others survive? Mir/San WAFF, IY & Shippou spend some quality time. PG-13 for someone's mouth and a Vitimine C tablet. New chap & italics fixed in Chap 4
1. Winter's Chill Chapter 0

Winter's Chill (Chapter 0)  
by IronRaven 

Discalimer: Shippou and his family aren't mine. Not even cranky Uncle Sesshomaru. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama. 

This is part of the Blanket Challenge issued by Chelsea Deanne (). For those unfamiliar with the Blanket Challenge, two or more of the IY characters are suffering from exposure, and fire is not available. Medicore shelter and one dry blanket are. Failure to restore body warmth will result in death to one or more of our heros. 

This is my first posted Inuyasha fic, so I'm not sure if it is good as it could be. *shrugs* For people put off by frost bite and/or warm fuzzies, this won't be a good one. For people who want some San/Mir romance, and quality time spent by IY and Ship, though... 

The whole thing is rated PG-13 for Inuyasha and Sango's mouths, mild violence, non-sexual nudity, a messy head wound, and a great deal of saki. 

--- 

The winter's winds beat at Kaede's simple hut as the sun rose, it's light flashing off the snow that has fallen in the night, robbed of all warmth by the now cloudless sky. Not a single bird flew, and the normal sounds of the village were muted, as if sound itself had frozen in mid-air, only thin dancers of smoke from the hearths giving signs of life anywhere. They, and a strong cough that was fighting to escape a small chest…

"Guys, it's nothing, just a cold. Maybe the flu. But I'll be OK, really!" Kagome had been saying that for days. Two on the trail, and one in Keade's hut, where her coughing had left her hoarse. 

"The 'flu'? Tell me, child, what kind of illness is this flu?"

"It isn't a big deal, Keade. I just need to rest a few days. Everyone gets it in my time. It just makes you ache, and cough, and run a fever. It's not dangerous to anyone except……" Looking around the room, Kagome's eyes found those of her friends. 

Young Shippo, rubbing his hands nervously, trying not to show his fear. Sango, always the practical one, sharpening one of her many hidden blades. Miroku, preparing herbs for one of the villagers, one eye on Sango. Inuyasha, leaning against the door frame, his hands hidden in the sleeves of his haori. Keade, warming herself by the fire, old even in Kagome's time, most of all. The others had never been exposed to the diseases she had been. The flu could kill them, any of them. _I'm a danger to them. Keade, Miroku, Sango, even Shippo and Inuyasha! I need to go home, before I sicken the village._

"Kagome, it sounds like the winter sickness. It came to my village, when I was little. It took many of hunters." Sango's voice was quiet, her eyes hidden as she bowed her head, but her shoulders were tight, remembering those who hadn't survived. Her voice was rough, trying to stay steady, when she spoken again. "Go home, Kagome-chan, please, until you are better. Your healers know more than we do, and can care for you better."

"Sango is right. Return when you are well. There is no hunting to be done in the dead of winter, anyway. Even Inuyasha's nose does not work as well, cold as it is. But when you return, bring what medicines from your time as you can- we may need them," Mirokou said, face calm, as he read Kagome's fearful eyes, knowing what strange illnesses could mean in the small, isolated villages, such as the one they had adopted as their home between wanderings. "You could not have known you were sick when you came. It is not your fault."

"Feh! Can you walk, or do I need to carry you again, wench? You had to be stubborn, you couldn't tell us you were sick when we left the village, could you? I'll make sure you get home, just like I made sure you got here," growled Inuyasha as he loosened the straps of her pack. Despite the weak anger in his voice, his companions knew that it was mostly for show. His eyes, close to the unfamiliar mechanism of the buckles flashed with concern, and a little fear. _Winter sickness… The village would loose people if spreads…I could loose her…_

Fighting to control his face, the hanyou finished loosening the straps on the massive satchel of stuff that Kagome couldn't live without. His normal mask of apathy and insolence was once again firmly in place, in all but his eyes as he stood, shouldering Kagome's pack, facing her. "Well?"

"Inuyasha! Kagome's sick! Even you should know better than to be a jerk to someone when they aren't well!" Standing at her side, Shippou was puffed in anger at the half demon, tail and fists high. Although only knee-high to the others in the group, he was every bit as brave as they were, especially when he thought Inuyasha was being mean. But bravery cannot protect you, and the young kitsune's foot went back a quarter step at Inuyasha's growl. 

"Enough of this, both of you!!" Miroku's voice rang clear over Kagome's latest bout of coughing, cutting through the argument, silencing it before it started. "Inuyasha and Shippou, either of you could become sick. Many of the illnesses that plague man also affect man-like youkai. So stay here this time, Inuyasha, rather than following her. She is safe in her own time, not matter how long it takes."

"Besides, Kirara has been through one village with winter sickness. She could protect Kagome in her own time just as well." The huntress looked over at her friend, who was curled up as near to the fire as one could without being in it. The little fire cat raised her head, yawning, her tails covering her toes, stretching, before walking to Kagome, rubbing the miko's hip with her head. 

"And she probably eats less than you do, Inuyasha," the time traveler whispered, lifting the two tailed cat in her arms, turning her head to keep from coughing in Kirara's ear. "And cats can't get the flu. Mine never has and he's always with me when I'm sick….."

---

Author's notes:  
I don't know if the flu was called "winter sickness" in old Japan or not. I have found references to it by that name in medival Europe, so... *shrug* 

Part of why this challenge called to me was becuase I've been badly frost bitten several times and probably should have gone to the ER for hypothermia a time or two. So I will be calling on my experinces and the lessons learned from them for this. 


	2. Winter's Chill Chapter 1

Winter's Chill (Chapter 1)  
by IronRaven 

Discalimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama. 

Warnings: Kirara is too cute, Shippou busts Inuyasha's chops, and Sango and Miroku have a micro-fuzzy. 

--- 

Clinging to Inuyasha's shoulder, Shippou watched as their friends made sure that the pack was snugly on Kagome's shoulders as she sat on the lip of the well, Kirara's head poking out of the front of her jacket. "Get better soon, Kagome."

The wind had picked up a little, small, faint clouds coming in from the west. The first flake of snow fell on Kagome's cheek, melting as it first brushed her skin. 

"I will, Shippo. And I will remember to bring supplies, Miroku, like you asked, and books for you and Kaede on the illnesses of my time. Just in case." Kagome reached, giving Sango a one-armed hug, before looking Inuyasha, then Shippou in their eyes. "And you two behave. Someday you might need eachother." 

With that, she was gone, down the well, forward in time, leaving the two demons looking at each other, cries of protest on their lips. "Never," cried Shippou as he sprang to the ground, swallowed nearly to the shoulders in the snow that had drifted around the well, while Inuyasha's ears swung back, a look of disgust on his face at the thought of depending on the fox child. His legs tensed as he started to leap to the trees, when Keade broke her long silence, her eye boring into each of the young people.

"If 'tis the winter sickness, I shall need yea to help me, all of yea. Inuyasha, your nose can find herbs even though the snows, can it not? I'll show you what to gather. Shippou, go with him- two sets of hands are faster than one, and yea are light enough to not slow Inuyasha. Miroku, Sango, I need you two to gather some the tips of the spruces down by the river, and willow bark. I fear we shall shall need more of both than was gathered."

---

_Well, there's nothing in there that will be hurt if it freezes._ Kagome had sat for several minutes at the dry bottom of the well, catching her breath before climbing the ladder she had left behind, debating if she had the strength to carry herself and her backpack. Letting it slide from her shoulders, the bag thumped dully against the packed clay floor of the well.

"Wha? Kagome, is that you?"

"Yes," cough, "jiichan. And I have a friend," she called as she made her way up the ladder, breathing heavily when she reached the top. Pausing for a couching fit, she leaned on her elbows on the top of the well, giving Kirara a chance to hop down, sniffing Kagome's grandfather curiously. 

The old man stooped, petting the cat, studing her. His eyes grew wide as he traced the two tails, each tipped with tiny spirit flames. "So they do exist…." His voice trailed off as he reached into his robes for an ofuda, murmuring the beginnings of a chant, while Kirara in her kitten form wound around his ankles, purring. "But she's just a kitten, isn't she…."

"Hai, jiichan," panted the breathless girl as she leaned against the side of the well itself, brushing the dust of the well from her clothes before disarming the "fastest ofuda in the East", smiling softly as she pocketed the seal. "Fire cats really do exist," shivering now, hugging herself though her winter coat. "I'll tell you about Kirara, but first, I want to get inside. I don't need to get any sicker…."

---

"Inuyasha, the bag won't hold any more, and it's starting to get colder. We should head back to Keade-sama's hut." The kitsune's hair was matted with snow from wading chest deep in the drifts, and from digging in them for the frozen remnants of the herbs Kaede had shown them. "I hope it's enough."

"It'll have to be. If not, well, too bad. Humans breed fast, they'll make more," brushing the snow from his mane, glaring at the flakes with contempt, Inuyasha made sure his bag was tightly tied. The snow fall had intensified, as had the winds, threatening to become a full fledged storm. "They always do. War, illness, nothing can wipe them out. Them and rats."

Scrambling up his companion's clothes, clinging to his shoulder, Shippou shook himself, snow caught in the folds of his clothes falling from him. "Maybe they just don't quit. Maybe that's their strength."

"Feh! Stupidity as a strength! And you call me baka!" Crouching deeply into the snow, Inuyasha sprang for the tree tops, planning on running across them to the village, despite the increasing winds and snow. Fallen limbs hidden under the snow had already shown that Inuyasha couldn't move on the forest floor at his accustomed speed. "It doesn't take a genius to know that there are times you should just admit you weaker, and let your betters kill you, mercifully and quickly!"

"Is that why you hide like a pup in a thunder storm every full moon, running away for the world?"

Growling loudly, directing a wave of pure menace at Shippou, Inyasha had only one rebuttal. "Shut up."

"So next time you fight Naraku, you are just going to stand there and let him slaughter you, then Kagome and the rest of us? Or maybe your brother can do it, and take the Tessaiga!"

Inuyasha's head twisted around to glare at the fox cub, snarling in anger as he pushed off again, aiming for a tree scores of meters away. "What the hell does that mean, runt! I should just throw you off, right now, and make you walk. With them, it's revenge, pure and simple!"

Sighing softly, taking an expression of pure peace that he had learned from watching Miroku, Shippou's voice was calm, "So your anger and hate is stronger than anything else? Is that why your father gave you the Tessaiga and your brother the Tensaiga? Because he's angrier than you are, and that makes him stronger, so you need a' edge?"

"Shut up! What does a little kid like you know, any way? Huh? What makes you think you know so much."

"I'm young, I'm not stupid, Inuyasha. And… LOOK OUT!!!!!!!!" Inuyasha snapped his head around, feeling the younger demon's claws sink into his shoulder. The last gust of wind had shoved them away from the branch Inuyasha had aimed for in his last leap.

"Oh, shit," was all the dog demon could say before the leg-thick tree limb clipped his forehead. He felt Shippo's hands torn from his haori, the boy's squeal of fear cut by a dull, soft, sick thump, before the long-haired demon was plunged into bone chilling whiteness, then even colder blackness.

---

The demon hunter and the monk had worked in near silence, each lost in thought.

_Winter sickness… _"Houshi-sama, have you ever seen winter sickness in your travels?"

"Fortunately, no, but I did see the aftermath, once. Many of the children who did survive will find their lives cut short from the fever's effects. The old people where the hardest hit. Many of them died from the sickness, but others had their lungs weakened by it, quite badly. Not many of them survived," rising from the willow limb he'd been scrapping, the monk turned to look at his friend. "You said that it came to your village, once."

"Yes, when I was young. We lost many hunters, and many others. The taijiya seemed to be able to fight it better. Their mates and families weren't so blessed." Crossing her arms across her stomach, Sango held herself tight as old memories flooded her mind. The faces of the lost, the smothering smell of sickness. _Okaa._ Her body flinched when she felt the hand on her shoulder, tensing slightly, waiting for it to move lower. 

"You lost someone very close, didn't you," his voice quiet, sympathetic, while his hand simple rested on her shoulder, comforting her. She just nodded, eyes closed, as her hand covered his in silent thanks. Their fingers twined together in a tiny embrace, the closest that the haunted hunter would allow herself to come to leaning against the cursed monk.

_Kami-sama, why did you put the soul of a good man with the hands and eyes of such a hentai?! _"I'll be alright, houshi-sama."

"I know, Sango, I know. But you don't have to be alone with the memories anymore," he said quietly. His hand gently squeezed her shoulder, gripping the armour she wore under her normal clothes, the muscles of her jaw showing her smile. "Come on, it will be dark soon, and the storm is getting worse."

"Don't worry, I was taught to count my steps and turns without thinking about it. I can find our way to the village, even in the dark."

From a low bush, a high, laughing cackle rippled towards them. Reflexes long tuned to ambush, they turned as the branches parted before the source of the voice. "Really, butcher? Then find your way back from HELL!!!" cried the bird demon as it sprang towards the girl. 

The crazed youkai's sudden charge left Sango sprawled in the snow, reaching for hiraikotsu where it had landed. Miroku's staff swung towards the beast, but the demon was set on her target- anything else was a distraction. With a contemptuous flick of a feathered wing, the monk was cast in the direction of the river, ice breaking under him on impact. But that tiny distraction was all that was needed. As the giant sparrow turned to face Sango, the heavy bone wedge of the hiraikotsu landed on it's enemy's neck, snapping it with the soft, wet crack of vertebrate. 

_Just one demon, and not one trained to fight. What made her do this? And why me? Did I kill it's child? Mate?_

Miroku! 

---

Author's notes:  
Good as place as any to leave you all hanging. :) 

About Keade's errands: Willow bark contains sylasalic (sp) acid, which is the origional form of asprin. Spruce and pine needles contain various vitamins, including C, even though they taste like something that should be used to degrease machine parts. 

**Jiichan**: Grandfather   
**Ofuda**: Ritual seals, wards.   
**Baka**: minor insult, kind of like idiot   
**Houshi**: A minor monk, and Sango's way of refering to Miroku   
**Okaa**: Mother 

I know, Shippou feels out of character here. I have to try hard to not make him like me at that age. But he isn't stupid, and he and Kaede are about the same age if I understand the aging process of youkai. In that many years, you learn a lot, even if your emotions don't quite keep up with your knowledge. So maybe all youkai kids are mouthy little smart asses. *ruffles Shippou's hair* 

And I KNOW jiichan is a little OOC. But you have to figure, he's probably seen Inuyasha enough to know that Kagome's friends aren't evil. 


	3. Winter's Chill Chapter 2

Winter's Chill (Chapter 2)  
by IronRaven 

Discalimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama. 

When last we left our heros, young Kagome had returned to her own time with the flu and Kirara. In the past, a blizzard was just getting started, and Inuyasha and Shippou had just had a midair collision with a tree, while Sango had to pull Miroku out from under the river's ice... 

--- 

"Uhn. What hit me?" Sitting up, Inuyasha broke the surface of the snow that had drifted over his prone body. The wind grabbed at his long hair, whipping it around his body as he held his head.

"Shippou? Where are you, runt?"

"Shippou!? You all right?"

"SHIPPOU!!" Fear brought the hanyo to his feet, the blow to his head forgotten. Sniffing the air desperately, he looked for any sign of the cub. Staggering, fighting to stay upright between his rattled brains and the entangling forest debris under the snow, Inuyasha moved towards the trace scent of his friend.

_There_. Falling to his knees, Inuyasha started to dig into the drift at the bottom of the tree, smelling the kitsune. Smelling kitsune blood. Finally finding the boy, the dog demon searched for a pulse, his hands shaking, his eyes wide. _Weak, but steady. He's breathing. Neck isn't broken._

Brushing the snow from his younger friend, Inuysha check his injuries with a practiced eye. Blood had stopped flowing from a gash on Shippou's forehead, and from the severely swollen nose and cheek bones. _The branch that I clipped must have hit him full in the face. Cuts, maybe a broken nose, but his cheeks and jaw aren't broken. _But his flesh was cold. Cradling the unconscious, shivering boy in his arms, shielding him from the wind, Inuyasha raised his nose, seeking his friends. "SANGO!! MIROKU!!" 

Brushing the falling snow from Shippou's face, Inuyasha's mind whirled. _Kagome, why did you have to get sick now? I'm no good as a healer. What do I do?!_

Opening the front of his haori and shirt, cringing at the chilled form of Shippou against his bare skin, Inuyasha knew that he needed to keep the boy warm. With a voice gruff from fear, and attempts to hide that fear, Inuyasha lowered his head to speak into his shift front. "Sorry, Shippou, it's as warm as it's going to be. Just hang in there, otouto. If I can keep you warm, your ki will repair your flesh."

---

Shaking from the cold, Sango helped the coughing, sputtering priest onto the bank of the river. "Are you alright, houshi-sama?"

"Th-the dem-mon? Isss it gone?" Falling into the snow, his arms barely able to hold himself up, Miroku could only whisper. 

"Yes," the huntress told him, starting to roll him in the snow. "Roll- the snow will suck some of the water from your clothes."

"OK, Sango-chan. I'll be alright. I just need a moment to rest."

_Oh, no, he's too cold. I need to keep him awake!_ Grabbing the monk by his dragon tail, she turned him to face him, before her hand met his cheek, harder than she's ever smacked him before. "STAY AWAKE, BOUZO!! WE STILL NEED YOU!"

"Hmnnn.. Why'd you hit me… Just a few minutes, please…." _Why can't she let me dream for a minute more. It's warm in my dreams. It's cold here. _

Pulling him upright, Sango slung her boomerang before looping her arm under his. His arm found it's way around her body, leaning on her for support. "Walk with me, houshi-sama, please. You need to stay awake. If you don't, you'll freeze to death."

Stooping to pick up his staff, she turned her head, their faces close, her breath like a flame on his cheek. "If you freeze, Naraku wins. You'll die, and I'll be all alone."

"S-s-san-n-go?" Eyes barely able to focus, he looked at her. "Whaaaa."

"It's nothing, houshi-sama. Walk with me. Left foot. Right foot. That's right. There was a small shed, the still, just the other side of that hill. A thousand paces. You can make it."

The rings of Miroku's shakujo ringing with every step, the two started off in a slow, shambling pace. Even though battlesuit was crafted of the skin of a snake youkai, lined with felt, and waterproof, it was not designed for bitter cold. The soaked fibers of her peasant clothes was starting to freeze to the scales under it, sapping her body's warmth. _If we don't get there soon, we'll freeze together. _

"S-s-san-n-go. Ar-rigat-to."

"You're wel-lc-come. Keep walking. Nine hundred ninety seven steps."

---

_Knock, knock_ "Kagome? You awake?"

"Hai, Souta, come in." _I was sleeping. Even sick, I can wake up in an instant now. Inuyasha and Sango must be rubbing off on me. _

"Jii-chan said you left this in the well, and Mama asked me to bring you some tea if you were awake," crossing to his sister's bed, the boy studied her face as he slid her pack to the ground, before passing her the mug. "She said that you brought home a friend?"

"Hmmhmmm," drinking slowly, feeling the honey and lemon sooth her throat, the steam clearing her head. "Her name is Kirara."

Drawn like magic by the use of her name, the fire cat raised her head, looking across Kagome's shoulder. Staring at Souta, her eyes growing large, she padded along the bed to the boy, sniffing him. Raising her paw, she batted gently at his thigh, as if she was seeing if he was real. Leaping down, she circled the boy, studying him with her eyes and nose, the fire tips on her tail standing higher than Kagome remembered seeing. After a few minutes, the cat sat at Souta's feet, a small, sad, disappointed and confused mewl leaving her lips.

"What's she looking for, neechan? What is it, Kirara?" Stooping to the pick up the two tailed cat, the boy held her in his arms as he scratched under his chin. Kagome smiled- after meeting Inuyasha, she didn't think any of her magical friends could faze Souta. 

"Maybe you reminds her of someone she used to know. She is a demon, she's lived with people for a long time," Kagome told her brother, her smile turning sad as he coaxed a purr from the still confused demon cat, seeing him in the dim half light. _I hope Sango is ok. Now where did that thought come from?_

"What is it, Kagome? You're staring at me."

"I.. Gomen… I'm just getting tired, that's all"

"OK," setting Kirara back down on the bed, Souta walked to the door, "good night, Kagome."

"Souta? Arigatou gozaimasu."

Hand on the door frame, he paused, looking at his sister, concerned. "For what?"

"For being you, otouto."

---

Author's notes:  
Hmm.... I think Kirara's a little confused by Ko... sorry, Souta's appearance. *smirk* I will go back to that in a latter fic, trust me. 

**Haori:** the outer shirt/jacket that goes with hakima   
**Hakima:** traditional trousers, loosly cut to allow full mobility   
**Ki:** aka "chi". Life energy, your soul, The Force (tm), whatever you call it. It's the thing that seperates mikos and other talents from mandanes, and the reason why youkai can do all thier nifty tricks. But ki can also be embedded, such as into a weapon or tool that it's owner creates or uses and carries on a daily basis, like the Tessaiga, Tensaiga, hairkikitsu and Miroku's shajuko (more on that later), making the tool ar living extension of the owner. (Although the Tessaiga and Tensaiga were charged by IY and Sesshy's father.) It is also possible to temporarily charge an object with ki, such as with Kagome and Kikyou's arrows, or Miroku and Keade's ofuda.   
**Otouto:** little brother (let's all get the "ahhh"s out in one go now that we know how Inuyasha feels about the kid)   
**Shakujo:** The elaborate staff of a buddist monk, with a brass head that has bells or chimes to warn small creatures that something bigger is coming. Think of them as back-up alarms for the front of a houshi. :)   
**Arigato:** thank you (Arigatou gosamimasu is the really formal version)   
**Neechan:** sister 


	4. Winter's Chill Chapter 3

Winter's Chill (Chapter 3)  
by IronRaven 

Discalimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama. 

Let's see, where were they? Oh yes, Sango was dragging a very hypothermic Miroku through a blizzard, and Shippou had not only suffered head trauma, he's been stuffed into Inuyahsa's shirt, and we all know how often dog boy bathes. Ewwww.... 

--- 

The stinging wind brought tears to his eyes as Inuyasha stumbled on yet another hidden object under the snow. At least he told himself it was the wind as they continued on, knowing that the village was in the direction he was going in.

"I'm sorry, Shippou, I thought it was closer. I'm used to moving faster than this, but the snow is too deep to run in." _And we got into this because I was leaping in the trees with this wind._ "Feh! Damn snow storm!"

One arm holding the still unconscious boy to him, the half-demon paused, breathing hard. Looking back, he could see his path, like a wake in the snow. "If anyone wants to find us, we won't be hard to follow. Now that is a comforting thought, ain't it."

"Shippou, I hope you don't remember what I'm saying. But I figure I may as well keep talking to you, until you start to wake up. It feels better talking to you than to a squirrel. You know I won't eat you, even if you would blab this to everyone if you remember what I was saying."

"And when I've been hurt, everyone chatters at me, so it's my turn to pay some of it back," grinning down at the still slightly shivering kitsune cub in his shirt, Inuyasha's eyes glinted with something. Not laughter, never that, but not cruelty. Maybe teasing. 

"Come on, Shippou-kun, it's time to get you someplace warm and dry before the night get's any closer." Gently rubbing the boy's back through his fire rat coat, Inuyasha started pushing his way though the snows again, his eyes flicking from flake to flake with a glare that would wither most youkai where they stood. The snow kept falling as the two faded into the white darkness, not caring about the hanyou's anger, carried on a mocking wind.

---

"Please, S-sango, pu-ut me down. I'm heavy."

"I will, Houshi-sama, in t-two hundred and five steps," Sango informed her companion. The falling snow had soaked their hair, and the cold froze it in place. As close as their heads were, their long hair had mixed, becoming one raven mass under the ice. She had yelled at him, cajoled him, and encouraged him. 

She thought back to the training that others had undergone at the village. Those like her, her brother, those who had been born into the life of taijiya learned from birth. But many came to the village to learn how to fight demons. Priest, samurai, others. Not many of them ever got the chance. Those who did had shown that they were worthy of adoption into the clan. But first, they had to become a hunter. 

The runs through the forest, climbing the cliffs, swimming in the river. Day and night, in and out of armour, even with heavy burdens, until they could do it silently while wearing bells, for hours on end. Learning to fight demons, like they were demons, rather than men. Many of them needed a little coaxing, as her father called it. She didn't need to be coaxed- this was her dream, her heritage, to be a hunter. But the others, who came from the outside, didn't have that advantage. It was from her father's quiver of verbal arrows she had called on for the past hour, stumbling in the snow. _I'm sorry, houshi-sama, for saying some of these things to you. If we survive, you'll be alive to hate me. _

That thought brought fresh tears of pain to her eyes, mixing with the ones brought by the cold and frustration as her knees landed in the snow. 

_'If', taijiya?' If' means you already gave up, Sango. The last of her kind, cut down by some bad weather. Yes, that is how your line will end. Frozen in a pasture, and then pecked at by the birds in the spring. If He dies, it's because you quit. Do you feel like quitting, Sango, hmm? Are you going to give up on yourself? On Kohaku? On the vengeance of your clan? _

_On Him? _

_Are you ready to leave Him to die, to let him be the first of your new family to die because you gave up? ANSWER ME, SANGO!!_

_Am I making you angry, Sango? Am I bothering the great exterminator? Oh, I am so sorry, great and powerful Sango-sama. Two hundred pardons, Sango-sama. Do you want me to go away, Sango-sama? Then get up and make me leave, you whimpering little fool! You don't deserve to carry the hairikitsu. Sango-sama, the weakling. Sango-sama, the coward. Stand up and prove me wrong! You can't do it, can you? You are going just going to die here, aren't you. You are going to let HIM die to, aren't you, so you don't have to be alone again. And when the winter sickness comes, Sango-sama? Who else will join you? Hmm? Kaede? Shippou? Inuyahsa? The villagers you've helped? Oh, yes Sango-sama,, you protected them from the evils, just to let them die because you couldn't even carry one little monk! And how about Kagome? She'll keep trying to stop Naraku, trying to save your brother, even without the great Sango-sama to protect her. Just her and Kirara. How long will they last? A week? A day? Do you want to see Kohaku and Okaa-san and Otou-san that badly, Sango-sama? You want to take your houshi home, don't you, introduce Him to your family. Yes, a nice happy, cheery, DEAD family, the old one and the new, and it will be YOUR FAULT, Sango-sama!!!_

With a wordless scream of rage and terror, panicked eyes flying from shadow to shadow, Sango dragged herself to her feet, throwing snow from her back and shoulders, looking for the voice that taunted her, that called to her from the darkness beyond the snows. "STOP IT!! SHUT UP!! LEAVE US ALONE!!!!"

Eyes wild, one hand on her sword, the other around Miroku, her heart pounded as she recognized the voice in her head. Her own voice. She had fallen. In the snow. Then she closed her eyes. She remembered that. In a tiny voice that even she barely heard, she answered her own challenge "Shut up, bitch, I'm not quiting, not yet. Not even on you."

"S-s-sang-g-go?" Miroku stirred, disturbed from dreams of warmth by the screaming, flailing girl at his side. 

"Nothing, houshi-sama. Come on, left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. One hundred and ninety-nine steps, full ones, not these little ones, and then we can sleep." Smiling to herself, the voice asked, _haven't tried that, have you?_ "When we get there, you and I will just take a little nap, just the two of us. Can you do this for me?"

"I.. I can try, Sango. If you want." Miroku's voice was tired, weak, bored. Wanting to sleep. 

"Don't try, bozou, do it! One hundred ninety-eight! Don't make me have to drag you like a holy sack of rice!" Shivering not only from the cold outside, Sango's belly turned to ice. _His hand hasn't once tried to grab me, and now he's saying he'll try to go to bed with me! Move, girl, before you loose him for good!_

"Move it, stop dragging your feet. Left, right, left, right. Pick them up, don't waste my time with baby steps. Move like there is my angry father behind you…."

---

"I'm sorry, Shippou. I can't see enough to travel, we could go in circles all night. I'll find us someplace to stay until dawn."

Looking at the trees nearest to him, Inuyasha found a few familiar evergreens. Tearing limbs from several pines, gathering them, he moved towards the remains of an ancient oak that had fallen in a summer storm. "At least I know where we are. Under this oak is a little hollow, I just need to dig down to it, make us a little cave in the snow. Line it with these branches to keep us a little warmer, more of them for a roof. A little den. You and me, otouto, like the beasts we are, eh?"

Using his feet to kick away some of the snow near the hollow, Inuyasha knelt to start digging. _I smell blood. My blood!_ Looking down, he saw that one of his feet had been stabbed by a nub of a tree branch. Giving his toes a reflexive curl, he stared at them until they moved. _They're frozen!_

"Feh! Just a scratch. Nothing to worry about, Shippou. I've had whole arms in me, and I came back. Don't worry, kiddo, I'll have you back to Kaede's as soon as it's light."

Lining the hollow with the pine limbs, Inuyasha slid into the hollow, covering the opening with more of the branches, knowing that the snow would soon cover them. Body heat warmed the cavity a few degrees within minutes.

"See, Shippou, I'm not as dumb as I look, am I? I told you we'd be warm in here." Opening his robes, he pulled out the cub, looking him over. From an inner fold, he drew out the small flashlight that Kagome had given him.

The swelling had already started to go down, and it looked like his nose would be fine. "Feh- a busted nose would have made you look tough, Shippou. You got to be tough. I wish we could make Kagome see that. Kikiyo understood that, she was tough…

"Kikyo and Kagome… Do you ever think about them? You never knew Kikyo. When she was alive, she was a lot like Kagome. But quieter, sterner. She made me want… to be loved. But Kagome got to grow up in a time of magic and luxury. Imagine, everyone being able to become scribes. They must have to, to be able to become so powerful."

Running a hand through his snow soaked mane, Inuyasha studied the face of the boy before him. "I wonder if my little brother would have been like you. Never knew that, did you? My Okaasan was pregnant when she died. I never got to see my baby brother. So, when I see you, I have to wonder if I would have been a good oniisan for him. Taught him how to fish, and hunt, and fight. Maybe fly a kite, or play kemari with." 

Taking the ends of his hair, using them to wipe the encrusted blood from the boy's face, the water and blood mixing, turning the tips pink, he spoke, his voice becoming strained. "Or would I have been like Sesshoumaru? Would I have cursed at him, called him a weakling? Kicked him? Humiliated him for fun, to entertain my flock of cronies and lickspittle followers? Mocked him, abused him just to show the full demons that I was as strong as they were? 

"That's why I got angry with you when you asked about our father's swords. I always wondered why I was asked to hold Otousan's shrine, why I was given the Tessaiga. I am the weaker brother. Sesshoumaru is stronger and faster than I am, he's a full youkai. So why did I get the honor of protecting my Otousan for eternity? Maybe you are right, maybe my human half makes me stronger. Maybe that is what you ment."

Curling himself into a ball around the kitsune, Inuyasha twisted the light off. 'Bat-ter-ees', Kagome had called the jars that the tame torch ate from. He only had the ones in there, and didn't want to keep the torch burning if didn't need to. Curling his feet into his knees to protect them from further freezing, he gritted his teeth at the pain, fighting to keep from screaming. 

"I think you are right. Humans are stronger. In five hundred years, your life time, they will tame fire, make it meak, docile, a trained pet to come when called from it's cage. But they only live a tenth as long as youkai do. Has any youkai ever made a 'bat-ter-ee'. But the humans will. And their villages shall reach up to touch the sky…."

"They are great miko and wizards, Shippou-kun. One of them was so great, she taught me how to want to love back. But if you ever tell Kagome that I said that, I'll… I'll… I don't know what I'll do to you, but it will be pretty damn horrible…" 

---

Author's notes:  
Ahhhhh... Inuyahsa's so embarrased... :) 

**Taiyija:** Sango's title as a demon hunter. Not sure of the exact translation.   
**Kemari:** A kind of japanese game. As I understand, it's kinda like a cross between soccer and kickball.   
**Miko:** Shinto priestess 

About Sango's little voice: I've BEEN that cold. Your mind does really weird things, mostly to try to keep you (and it) alive. In my case, it wasn't even nice as what Sango's does. And I think that threat of Sango's father chasing after me would get me to move if I had the houshi's, err, bad habits. :) As for what she's saying, the taiyija weren't secret, so eventually people would come to them for training. Some of them may have needed "motivation". 

And with frostbite, you can't feel your injuries, at least not in my experince. That's part of why it is so scary. That, and the threat of gangrene when the area thaws. 


	5. Winter's Chill Chapter 4

Winter's Chill (Chapter 4)  
by IronRaven 

Discalimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama. 

And yes, in the last chapter, I inserted the idea that IY's mom was pregnant. To me, part of why Inuyasha is the way he is is that his childhood was stolen, and he's trying to build something like it. And besides, having a little brother is good if you are single guy- chicks dig the kid. *ducking all manner of heavy and/or sharp objects thrown in my direction* Just kidding! :) 

To recap, Inuasha's brain must be frozen along with his feet, because he's confessing to an unconsious Shippou in a snow cave. Miroku is trying to die, but Sango won't let him, even if she looses her mind in the process... 

--- 

Step. Step. Stumble. Step. Step. Step. Stumble.

"Ten steps, houshi-sama. Lift your head, and you can see the shed." Stumbling, shaking so bad from the cold that she could barely stand, Sango turned her face to her friend's. "I've been carrying you for the past fifty steps, the least you could do would be look up."

Weakly pinching his hand in her's, both equally pale, cold and stiff, she looked at the monk's face in the darkness. She could feel his breath on her cheek, but he hadn't spoken or been able to walk for some time. "Wake up, bozou! You aren't dieing on me, not this close!" 

Faltering, falling into the snow, like a puppet with it's string cut, all Sango could do was sob, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She was drained. Even the little voice had was tired of yelling at her. "Damn you, Miroku, don't leave me. Wake up! WAKE UP!!"

"Just another minute, love, please," he murmured. The last of the warmth in her body flooded her cheeks.

"NO! NOW!! You and I are going to crawl to that hut, or I will spend the entire afterlife smacking you, you bastard!"

"Hmmm… Yes, dear… You really aren't a morning person… Even on a warm morning…" Weakly, tiredly, Miroku moved with her, pushing with their legs, plowing and crawling through the snow. He wasn't shivering any more. Sango knew that to be a sign that she was almost out of time. 

The door was open, all they had to do was push. More like collapse. The still house was an open secret, but a hidden one. Outside of the village, officially because of it's flammable nature, Sango also knew that some of the women of the village would have taken a torch to it if they knew where it was. Sango pulled the unconscious monk after her, feeling in the dark.

"This is going to hurt when we wake up, Houshi-sama, but it is warmer than the floor. I'm sorry," she apologized as she pulled the old tatami that the still keepers kept on the mash pot to keep it warm, spreading it onto the wood pile against the wall. Finding a pile of discarded rice bags at the end of the stack, she started to strip them both, as quickly as she could, a tiny, embarrassed smile sneaking to her lips. _You probably did this on purpose, hentai_, as she dragged him on top of the wood billets_. _

Using one sack to dry their hair, she tossed their clothes, accumulated ice, weapons, all into one pile. "If you get any ideas, I'll know you are better. So get a bad idea, soon, please. These are a lousy blanket, but they will work. I hope."

Pulling the pile of rice sacks over them, she pressed herself to her perverted friend, snuggling against him, sharing their merger remaining warmth. 

---

_'Little brother'?   
'Kagome'   
My nose hurts.   
'Magic'?   
'Tamed fire'   
'Villages in the sky'   
'Metal birds'   
Why do I hurt so?   
'Can't tell her.'   
'Want to love.'   
'Can't tell.'   
My head hurts._ "Oowwmmnnnn"

"SHIPPOU!! You're awake! FEH! Finally, about time you got up, runt."

_Inuyasha's voice. And his scent. Why is he holding me? What happened? He's afraid!? _

"Inu-Inuyasha?" Turning stiffly, the kitsuni tried to figure out what was wrong. He could barely breath through his nose, which was blocked up with dried blood, but he couldn't feel any on his face. It hurt to try to open his eyes, and his finger, toe and eartips ached from the cold. "Wha' happen'd?"

"You gave me too much crap, and I threw you off. Like I told you," _He's awake, he'll be alright! I'm not going to loose my little brother again! _

"You ran into a tree, baka!" _Was Inuyasha talking to me while I was out. I thought I was dreaming._

"Because you distracted me! Didn't anyone ever teach you not to bother people when they are doing something important? Like keeping you alive?" Giving the cub's tail a halfhearted yank, Inuyasha did his best to scowl in the dark. 

"Where are we?" _Beast den, in the snow, that's what you said in my dream, Inuyasha. _

"In a hole under a tree. I thought about going back to Keade-babaa's without you, but Kagome would never help me find the shards if I left you in that blizzard. This is all your fault." _Don't remember what I told you, please, Shippou-kun. _

"Hmph! If you had any brains at all, we wouldn't have hit the tree." Pulling a tiny twig from under them, the cub found it's ends in his fingertips. "Kitsuni-bi!"

Holding the twig like a candle, Shippou looked them both over. The white's of Inuyasha's eyes were bloodshot, and some of his hair had a pink tint to it. _And all at the end. That's odd… it's blood! My blood! Inuyasha cleaned me!_ The youkai's robes were still open, despite the chill, and Shppou could see some more reddish stains on his friend's chest. _He carried me, inside his clothes, where it was warm. How bad was I hurt?_"Inuyasha?"

"Shippou, shut up. I'm going to sleep some before dawn. And don't bring the snow down on top of us, you moron," blowing out the tiny flame. But not before the cub could see that the half demon's cheeks were stained with tear tracks.

---

Author's notes:  
So now Shippou knows how Inuyahsa feels about Kagome and himself. AAhhhhhhh... 

**-babaa**: "old lady", maybe a little closer to "old bat". 

With cold injuries, once you start feeling warm, you know you have a problem. A BIG, skinny, black cloak and sickle bearing one if it's your core tempature that is going down. 

Now the only stills I know anything about is for making whiskey, and it was a diagram in a book on bootleggers, and Hawkeye's on M*A*S*H. I don't know if the stills they used for saki had a mash pot or not, but you keep the mash warm so that it will ferment more and faster. 

And if Miroku wakes up, he'll be naked and alone with Sango. Oh, the possibilies *juggling citrus fruit* 


	6. Winter's Chill Chapter 5

Winter's Chill (Chapter 5)  
by IronRaven 

Discalimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama. 

The last we knew, Sango had just torn Miroku's clothes off in a room that reeks of saki, and Inuyasha was behaving like himself again. Mostly. And no sign of Kagome. 

--- 

The sun shown hard on the fresh snow, unhindered by clouds. The previous day's snows had been blown smooth and pure, forming a perfectly sculpted blanket of white. Small birds flittered and called to each other through the trees, the day tranquil. From the side of the old oak, a pale hand thrust it's talons through the snow, two voices welcoming the light of day.

Shippou bounded from the shelter, scurrying along the top of the snow, laughing with relief. Inuyasha dragged himself from it more slowly, trying not to cringe at the pain in his feet, instead turning it into a scowl as he watched the cub caper about.

Catching sight of the older demon's expression, and his folded arms, Shippou stopped. "What? It's a beautiful morning, Inuyasha. And I'm happy to be out of there, aren't you?" 

"Feh! I'd been in there so long, I'd actually gotten used to your stink, runt." _He's going to have a scar on his face from last night. _

"Oh, really? Kagome like's my smell. She says URK!" His words cut off by being yanked on the ground by his tail, the kitsune found himself tucked under the hanyou's arm like a package, facing backwards. "Hey, what are you doing! Put me down!"

Leaping for the treetops, Inuyasha waited to answer until he was on the first perch, smiling like a cat. "You really want me to put you down? "

"Uh, not really… Wait the village is the other way! Where are we going?"

"We're going to get the old hag's roots and herbs. We should be able to find them, and I don't need Kagome sitting me a hundred times just because we made that old prune cranky!"

Shippou thought about that, watching the ground move beneath them, the air fluffing his tail the wrong way. _We're moving slow. What's wrong with Inuyasha?_ Then he saw the problem. The dog demon's hakima hid his feet well, but the boy could see that Inuyasha's toes were all traced with shadows, tissue frozen in cold. _His feet froze! Why is he doing this?! _

The dog boy paused as he landed, sniffing the air as quietly as he could why he looked for the next branch, not wanting to be blown off course again. _Why am I doing this? My feet are killing me. That's not how I want to be remembered, Inuyasha the Nine-Toed. _Pushing off for the next tree, his hand strayed to the Tessaiga, holding it tighter to his side. _You would have done this, wouldn't you, Otou-san. OK, Inu-jijii, you gave me this nose. Now help me find those herbs._

---

Sitting in the middle of her floor, Kagome was sorting through piles and grocery bags of supplies, trying to determine how to load her pack. 

"Honey?" Higashurai-sama knocked on her daughter's door, surveying the room. "Are you sure you should be out of bed yet?"

"Hi, Mama- I could just lie there any more. I've got to do something useful," pausing to cough dryly, the young miko continued. "I brought my flu back with me, Mama. People die from the flu now, with medicines and hospitals and doctors and clean water and food. Anyone who dies this winter, it will be my fault, even if no one says so."

Hugging her knees to her breasts, Kagome lowered her face, the fear of a plague running through her mind. To Higurashi-sama, it made her daughter look smaller, younger, more fragile than she had been since before her quest started. Kneeling next to Kagome, the older woman stroked her back. "None of this is your fault. Not any sickness, not your quest. But you are making them right. From everything you've told me, you are helping people. You hide them, but I've seen the bruises, the cuts. When you are home, you are fighting something in your sleep. I know you, Kagome, I know you are risking yourself to help other people. Your otuo-san would have been proud of you."

Kagome pressed her face to her mother's shoulders, the tears starting to form. "But why me?"

---

As the first light of day broke over the eastern horizon, Miroku stirred under empty rice bags and something chilly to the touch but still warm, and heavy enough to that it probably wasn't a quilt. _Lousy place to spend the night. Chilly, the bed is worse than uncomfortable. Feels like I'm in a pile of rocks. Stinks of cheap saki. At least I've got company. _

_COMPANY?!!! _

Looking down, Miroku's nose was instantly buried in Sango's mane of hair. His eyes grew wider as he realized that they were both naked, with his arms around her, clutching her tightly to his chest, while their legs were twisted together. _Oh, Budda, why! What happened? Why can't I remember! Sango, I'm sorry, I'msorry, I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry..._

The terrifying thought that he, a monk, hentai or not, could have taken advantage of his friend, the woman he was afraid to love, while they were drunk forced his throughts to his lips in pained sobs. "I'm sorry…"

"For what, Houshi-sama?" Brought to wakefulness by his paniced movements, stirred by his pounding heartbeat in her ear, the exterminator raised her head to look at her friend, their noses nearly touching. His warm breath played over her lips, softening them to a smile.

"For, for this… I'm sorry... I didn't want this… you… I do want, but… not like this... I wish that this... I shouldn't have... Please forgive me... You never drink, and… What's so funny?" Listening to her friend, realizing what he had been thinking, Sango threw her head back, laughing at him, the humor of the moment evaporating the stress and fear of the night. The nearly hysterical release played itself out until her heart was beating as fast as his, their rhythms matched.

"What happened isn't what you are thinking, hentai. Remember, the bird youkai threw you in the river? I pulled you out, and you were nearly blue. I dragged you here, the still house. Do you remember any of this?" Looking into his eyes, Sango's breath playing on his face as the memories came back from where his terror had hidden them. Her memories made her cheeks redden, as she thought about how she had encouraged him. "I'm sorry about the things I said to you."

Closing his eyes, Miroku examined the twisted, disjointed thoughts of the previous day. "I remember. You saved me, you pulled me from the river. Then you made me walk. You wouldn't let me sleep. And you wouldn't leave me. You could have died to. Why?"

"Because you are my friend, baka. I care about you, even when I'm not sure if you care about yourself. You aren't going to die for a long time. And not like that," pausing to yawn, the Sango pulled the rice bags about to fill a couple of gaps that had formed. Miroku's face was deep in thought as he felt the lovely, wonderful, strong, lethal girl moving about, a tiny smile playing on his lips. "Forgive me, houshi-sama. I didn't mean what I said, I needed to keep you moving."

"I don't remember you saying anything to be sorry about." He marveled at his not having reacted to her motions, her presence, when his dreams had so often brought moments like this to him. His voice was slightly teasing when he spoke again. "So you know when I'll die and how?"

"Hmmmhmmm. You won't die for some time. And when you do, it will be because this," she groped for his hand, her callused fingers still chill on his flesh, her voice heavy with sleep, "landed on the wrong one," as she slid his hand down her back, resting it on her bum, "too many times." As her hand slid down his side, she lowered her face to his neck, savoring his warmth and scent.

"Now be quiet and let me rest some more. You got to be carried, Houshi-sama, and you aren't little." Her breathing slowed as she slipped into a gentle slumber, her hand resting on his backside, giving it soft squeeze. Miroku's face was ablaze as his pulse hammered in fear, not for the huntress, but of her this time.

_She put her hand on my… And my hand on her…._ These thoughts, and many others swirled about in the monk's mind as he stared at the ceiling, trying to stay awake, just in case it was a dream, while his toes, still cold numbed, and quite without his permission, stroked her's. 

---

Author's notes:  
Poor Miroku is going to blow a fuse. *giggle* 

**Otou-san**: father   
**Inu-jijii**: My pidgin-Japanese for 'Old-dog', one way of speaking of Inuyasha's father. Not very respectful, but with Inuyasha, that's a sign of affection. 


	7. Winter's Chill Epilogue

Winter's Chill (Epilouge)  
by IronRaven 

Discalimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama. 

Warning, enough warm fuzzy to make even Sesshomaru smile. 

--- 

The joists of Keade's hut popped in the cold, waking the smallest of those within. Shippou looked around, reluctant to crawl from his blanket. The dieing fire lit Keade's face with soft, yellowish light, as she snored softly. Sango and Miroku, both still exhausted from their time in the cold, murmured in their dreams, each almost replying to the other. _It's like they are together in their dreams._

The thought brought a happy smile to the boy's face, remembering his own parent's doing the same thing. The memory drew him from the warm embrace of the wool, to the fire. Stirring it gently, adding more wood, Shippou warmed himself. Pausing to sniff the air, his face grew serious. _Inuyasha, you could have stayed here, where it is warm. But I knew you wouldn't. You are stubborn as Kagome is._

Silently crossing to Keade's pottery, he selected a small, lidded clay jar, and returned to the fire with it an a pair of tongs. Using the tongs, the boy carefully dug out the small stones he had set at the edge of the coals hours earlier, before placing them in the pot, and wrapping it in a pair of blankets. Moving to the door, his little fox feet feather light on the floor, the kitsune paused to the pull the blanket back over Sango's bandaged feet, strips of gauze loosely wrapping each toe. _I hope they didn't freeze too deeply._ He glanced at Miroku's hand, similarly dressed over the beads reigning in the Kazaana, silently praying to the kami to heal his friends' injuries. Miroku's unbandaged hand flexed slightly, as he mumbled something happy sounding, Sango's hand clutching on air as she murmmered back, much to the humor of the pup who thought of them as his aunt and uncle. Against the wall, their weapons were propped, the sling of the hairikitsu draped against the body of his staff, her tassels brushing his rings as their heads leaned together in silent watch. 

Slipping quickly through the door, the kitsune's breath was yanked from his chest by the bitter cold, while his eyes teared from the full moon's light. The snow glittered bluely in the open, while the moon threw harsh shadows under the trees. His breath rose straight up in the windless air as he made his way to the Bone-eater's well, and the god tree. 

In the limbs of the mighty guardian of the forest, Inuyasha sat, curled up in Kagome's sleeping back. _What do they make this out of. It's so warm, warmer than down._ His thoughts kept the dancing stars company, not a cloud in the sky, as he remembered the tales he had learned of them. _I wonder if the same stars are watching Kagome. In her time, you can't even see them. _

"Shippou, is everything alright?"

_How can you smell me? I can't smell me…_ "Inuyasha, I brought you a warming pot."

"Don't need it, runt. Go back to bed."

"I will. If you take the pot, or come back to the hut with me. You know she won't come in the middle of the night."

"Are Sango and Miroku doing better?" Moving his golden eyes to look at the kit, Inuyasha seemed cast from silver in the moonlight. "They will get better, right?"

"Keade thinks so. Your feet got better- you tried to hide it, but didn't do a good enough job."

"Feh! Of course, I'm a demon. Unless it's cut off, it will heal." 

"Then I'm going to sit right here until dawn or until one of us freezes solid." Setting the pot down in the snow, it's sides gently hissing as they kissed the bluish-white jewel carpet on the ground, Shippou sat against the edge of the well, his back to it. "Well?"

"Feh, just head back and I'll be down to grab the damn pot, runt. You really are a pest, you know that?."

"If I do that, you won't get it. Come down first. Then I'll go."

Unzipping the sleeping bag, Inuysha gasped as his warm nest was cracked, leaving him with only Kagome's scent to warm him as he leapt down. Stooping to pick up the pot, he glared at the kit, "Fine, happy? I have the friggin' pot."

With a simple, silent nod, Shippou started back to Keade's, shivering slightly, until Inuyasha partially unwrapped the pot, dropping one of the still hot blankets on the boy. "Thanks, Inuyasha."

As he reached the edge of the clearing, Shippou could have sworn he heard Inuyasha whisper, "You're welcome, little brother." But when he looked back, the older demon was staring at the sky, searching it for something unknown, huddled in the surrogate warmth of Kagome.

--- 

Author's Notes:  
And that's a wrap. *click*

When I'm sick, I forget things. So Kagome leaving behind her sleeping bag worked for this. 

And people thought I was babbling in my explination of ki and weapons. :) 

For those who don't know frostbite, if it's bad enough the skin turns black from dead blood from frozen and ruptured vessels just ender the skin. As the tissues repair themselves, anything that can rub shouldn't be rubbed. If you do, the tissues can tear. That's why people with badly bitten fingers and toes wrap them, and so that they don't stick together during that process of healing (which would be very bad). 


End file.
